Hey there internet, it's been a while. So as i've said before on here i graduated from university back in July and as of last Monday i have officially started studying for my MA at a new university. So far it has been really, really, really good but unfortunately there was a lot of prep reading for the degree and since then it hasn't really stopped, so this blog has kind of been on the back burner. However i think i should be able to start uploading posts more regularly from now on :D
In honour of it being the month of October and the fact that Halloween is quickly approaching, and i LOVE Halloween, i thought i would do a Top 5...Halloween/Horror/Creepy books! Yeah, can you tell i couldn't decide which one to go for?
HERE WE GOOO!!!!
5. The Shining - Stephen King
"A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where an evil and spiritual presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from the past and from the future."
I LOVE Stephen King, and The Shining is one of my all time favourite horror stories. Both the book and the film are things that i love to read and watch over and over, and i think that October and Halloween make the perfect time to read such a creepy story. I love the way this book is written, and the way the characters just come to life and creep the hell out of you and i think that if you're looking for a good halloween book that has that perfect mix of human depravity and supernatural scares then this is definitely the book to go for!
4. Ring - Koji Suzuki
"In Japan, a mysterious video is killing whoever views it, unless that viewer can solve its mystery."
I adore this book. Maybe that's not the word that should come to mind when thinking about a book which is focused on scaring the hell out of anyone who reads it, but i really do adore it. I love the way that Suzuki has made something so simple and good as home movies into something so terrifyingly sinister. If, somehow, you've never heard of this story i'll make it simple for you: there is a video tape making it's way around Japan that, after you watch it, gives you seven days before it kills you, and in those seven days you must figure out its secret to stay alive. Now i love the idea of this story, and unfortunately for me, i saw the american movie adaptation before i read this book, and even before i watched the 1998 Japanese adaptation, which kind of sucks, but the basic story stays the same throughout and i absolutely love it. Horror is something that Japan always seems to excel in, and this is definitely proof of that.
3. Carrie - Stephen King
"A young, abused, and timid 17 year old girl discovers she has the power of telekinesis, and gets pushed to the limit on the night of her high school'd prom."
Oh Carrie, you poor, poor girl. So Stephen King is making his second appearance on this list, with his amazing story: Carrie. Carrie has been my number one SK novel ever since the first time i read it. I think there's definitely a reason it's one of his most famous works, if not the most famous. He makes you feel basically every emotion you're able to feel, and all in such a short book. I think that everyone who reads Carrie falls in love with it for different reasons, but there is a reason this book has inspired so many adaptations - IT'S AMAZING. I love the book, i love the 1980 movie adaptation, and i cannot wait to see the new adaptation when it finally comes out in the UK. It's the perfect October/Halloween read.
2. Death Note - Tsugumi Ohba
"An intelligent high school student goes on a secret crusade to eliminate criminals from the world after discovering a notebook capable of killing anyone whose name is written into it."
This is the only non-novel that's made it onto one of my 'Top 5's' and that's because it's just so damn amazing. I love the Death Note series, i love L, i love Light, i love Ryuk, i love everything about it. I think it's such a wonderfully written, and illustrated, story and it's one of the few series that had me gripped from the very first page til the very last page. I think it's wonderful and with the whole God of Death, people dying, supernatural-ly feel, this series is perfect to pick up if you're in the mood for something a little bit different for October/Halloween. I know that i'm going to re-read it on the 31st, and i couldn't recommend it more to anyone that's even slightly interested in manga/graphic novels.
1. Dracula - Bram Stoker
"The original, and best, Vampire novel. Dracula is the guy you don't want to mess with."
What can i say about Dracula here that i haven't already said on this blog? Probably nothing, but it definitely deserves to be in the number one spot on a list about the best October/Halloween books because, you know, it's DRACULA. I love this book, and i'm pretty sure everyone already knows that, so i won't say much, but i seriously could not recommend this book more to everyone who likes horror, or who likes classics, because it really is one of the greats. Also, reading this would go great with watching the new series with Jonathan Rhys Myers ;)
Meghan x
